The Revd Chan Kwok-keung installed as new dean of St John’s Cathedral
Publish Date: 30-Jun-2021
The Revd Chan Kwok-Keung was installed as Dean of St John’s Cathedral on 20 June. The Rt Revd Matthias Der, Bishop of Hong Kong Island and former Dean of the Cathedral, officiated at the service to install Fr Chan into his new post. In the service, Mr John Li and Mr Martin Matsui, trustees of St John’s Cathedral, presented Fr Chan to the Bishop. After taking a vow of canonical obedience, Fr Chan received the Bible, the consecrated bread and wine, and the holy oil. The Revd Mark Rogers, one of the chaplains at St John’s Cathedral, then vested Fr Chan in the decanal cope, and Bishop Der led him to the Dean’s stall and blessed him as the new Dean. In his sermon, Dean Chan gave thanks to God and prayed that his love for all brothers and sisters in Christ is as unconditional as a father’s love for his children. He was a teacher in Sheng Kung Hui Good Shepherd Primary School before his ordination and weathered through the SARS epidemic in 2003 with the school’s staff. The experience made him more aware of the true meaning of life. After the SARS, he responded to the calling of God and decided to devote himself to serve God full-time by starting his pre-ordination training to become a priest. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are facing all sorts of worries day after day, Dean Chan said. However, by using the parable of the birds in the air and the lilies of the field told by Jesus in the gospels, he invited the congregation to focus on God’s providential care to overcome their worries. He also thanked God for providing Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui with a mission model in Hong Kong and Macau that links churches, schools, and social service units. This model enables Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui to provide holistic care to the people from the cradle to the grave through its diversified ministries. As he begins his new ministries, Dean Chan said he will work in the spirit of this mission model and will be working closely with schools, social service units and the Cathedral’s outreach ministries.
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